AGENDA ITEMS

ITEM 01

Subject: Petition for the Establishment of a Charter School Under the Oversight of the State Board of Education: Consideration of Watsonville Prep School, which was denied by the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and the Santa Cruz County Office of Education.

CDE Recommendation: The CDE proposes to recommend that the SBE hold a public hearing to approve the request to establish Watsonville Prep School (WPS), a K through grade eight charter school for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2024, under the oversight of the SBE, based on the CDE’s findings pursuant to Education Code (EC) sections 47605(b)(1), 47605(b)(2), 47605(b)(3), 47605(b)(4), 47605(b)(5), and 47605(b)(6), and California Code of Regulations, Title 5 (5 CCR) Section 11967.5.1.

The CDE finds that the WPS petition is consistent with sound educational practice and that the petitioner is demonstrably likely to implement the program set forth in the petition.

The CDE recommends the following conditions to be met as outlined and prior to WPS opening for operation in 2019–2020:

The WPS Board will provide the CDE with a revised multi-year budget including updated financial projections and complete narrative and assumptions.

Additionally, the CDE finds that the WPS petition does provide reasonably comprehensive descriptions of most of the required elements. If approved by the SBE, and as a condition of approval, WPS will be required to revise the petition in order to reflect the SBE as authorizer and include the necessary language for the following required charter elements: measurable pupil outcomes (MPOs) and annual independent financial audits.

Action: Commissioner Bauer moved for recommendation to the SBE of the CDE staff recommendation.